Sarah Rice/For the Star-Ledger New officers salute during graduation from the Newark Police Academy for the 115th Police Recruit Class on March 1 at Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark. A number of departments across the state have made concessions to save jobs.

Facing mounting pressure from cash-strapped municipalities, police unions across the state have started making concessions to save officers’ jobs.

Recent agreements include changes to overtime pay, health care and other benefits.

In Princeton Township, reimbursements for college tuition and uniform allowances have been cut. In Manapalan, the union agreed to contribute to health benefits a year earlier than required by its contract. Officers in the Monmouth County township will also forego overtime for the next 18 months.

Unions in Howell, Montville, South Brunswick and Egg Harbor Township have reached similar agreements.

"It’s unprecedented," said Manalapan police Officer Eric Schmidt, president of the department’s PBA Local 229.

The concessions signal a significant shift in union bargaining tactics, experts said. Prodded by budget pressures and a recently enacted cap on property tax increases, unions that once readily sought arbitration now opt for negotiation, said William Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities.

"That’s a win-win situation. In some cases (unions) are giving up a lot, but you’re keeping your job," he said. "A big change in attitude."

But some union leaders cautioned that certain agreements could result in more retirements and higher costs in the future.

"You’re just kicking the can farther down the road to when the towns are going to be even more strapped," said Anthony Wieners, the president of the state Police Benevolent Association.

The Manapalan union agreed to the cuts after township leaders threatened to layoff 11 officers — nearly a fifth of the force — because of budget constraints.

Once the officers signed off on the changes, which are expected to save $300,000, the town agreed to shelve layoffs.

"It was unpleasant, but necessary," Schmidt said.

Under the agreement, the Manalapan officers who work overtime shifts will accumulate days they can take off at a later date.

The size of the police department has also played a role in union negotiations. Larger departments have had a tougher time finding enough savings to prevent layoffs.

For example, Newark is facing 167 layoffs and 112 demotions in its force of 1,062 officers, but the department has struggled to find worthwhile changes to the contract.

"Any concession that we can give wouldn’t get them to the number they are looking for," said Derrick Hatcher, president of Newark Fraternal Order of Police, referring to city officials. "They brought up some topics for discussion but it still wouldn’t provide enough monies to actually save jobs. There are still going to be layoffs."

Concessions have already forced some departments to do more with less. In South Brunswick, police are juggling schedules to cover shifts left open by retired officers who have not been replaced.

Some of the changes may also lead to more difficult fiscal problems in the future, said Weiners, the state PBA president.

Officers accumulating compensation time, for example, will eventually want something in return, either time off or more pay, he said.

Under Manalapan’s agreement, each officer must accrue 150 hours of compensation time before seeking overtime payment, and officers cannot use the compensation time if it creates more overtime for the department.

Discussions in Trenton over changing public employee pensions also caused a rush of retirements, with 1,500 officers submitting their paperwork in the first seven months of this year, Wieners said. The PBA recently held an emergency meeting to squelch rumors about pension changes.

Staff writers James Queally and Rohan Mascarenhas contributed to this report.